Peace Over Popularity
by MOSHIxMOSHI
Summary: Somehow, Sakura Haruno found herself in an uncomfortable predicament, one battle she wishes she never would have been involved in, a battle of peace and love or popularity. Without even meaning to, she has already chosen - and one person is not happy about it at all. SasuSaku AU
1. The Start

_A/N: Anyone who read Gatorade/The G-Series who is reading this fic now, thank you. And thanks to **Blaack Pepper **for reading and reviewing my fic "Labels" as well. I do check those kinds of things. ^^_

* * *

**P**_eace_ **O**_ver _**P**_opularity_

_* * * * * * * * * * *  
_O

o

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"Ooh, I'm so nervous!" A pink haired teenager announced to her friends as she packed up her clarinet in its case.

Ino rolled her eyes before gently slapping her friend's arm.

"You're the last person who should be worrying, you're perfect, Sakura." Hinata and Tenten nodded in agreement.

Sakura Haruno would be 14 in a few months, the youngest student at the whole Konoha High School. She had medium length coral colored hair—and let the records show it is completely _natural—_that matched her bright emerald eyes that gleamed with innocence and happiness 24/7. She wasn't very tall but had a slightly athletic body shape from cheerleading but not overly muscular that she rivaled the basketball team's physique.

Sakura was about to protest Ino's comment when bright red jumped right in front of her.

"Sak, where've you been? Mei and I have been waiting for you!" Karin called, tugging Sakura along with her to the exit doors of the band room.

Ino and Tenten scowled at the popular fake red-head as she dragged their best friend away without even acknowledging the rest of them.

But it was Karin, they didn't expect anything less than from someone like her. AKA: a Popular, also known as a _bitch _from Ino's point of view.

Unfortunately, Sakura Haruno was at the top of this level—the popularity one she meant.

It started in sixth grade, when Karin came to their school from other rich school people only dreamed of attending. At the time Sakura was rather unpopular, no one knowing much about her or bothering to get to know her. But she wasn't into anyone but Ino, Tenten, and Hinata either (the three missed these dasys). Karin said she needed Sakura for a "test subject" and quickly made the girl popular in order to make her own self popular much to the three's dismay.

Since then Sakura became completely different.

She's nice, decent in studies, pretty, innocent, social, and everything that stood for love and good. Back when Ino knew her (pre-Karin era) she was aggressive, smart beyond belief, beautiful in her own unique way, mischievous, quiet, and everything unique and unimaginable.

Ino would trade the world for that old, unpopular girl no one knew about to come back.

But life wasn't a fairy tale and the world wasn't due for sale any time soon. So Ino, Tenten, and Hinata would have to live with this new, perfect Sakura instead. Life had a funny was of changing suddenly for the worse and never turning back… but there were a few times life changed again, for the better. And that rare time began today.

* * *

"Temeeeee, look, that hot chick is totally checking you out!"

Said "teme" rolled his eyes and proceded to ignore the blonde by stacking his textbooks in his locker neatly, a grand contrast from mentioned blonde's own locker that looked like a pig sty meets rat's nest meets teenage boy's bedroom.

Naruto only continued to nudge Sasuke harder in the ribs until Sasuke put his Taekwondo to good use and swiftly popped Naruto's shoulder out of place.

He ignored the screams of agony behind him and curious stares with ease, heading to his first class.

* * *

"I'm thinking about switching songs for my band recital; something harder will probably surprise the judges," Sakura pondered over with her friends Karin and Mei as they sat around in class waiting for their math teacher.

Karin scoffed and flipped her red hair back with a flick of her wrist.

"Why would you do the stupid thing anyway? Band is _so _not cool."

Mei nodded in agreement and readjusted her own long, brown hair.

Sakura's small smile faltered but she quickly dismissed it and laughed the whole ordeal off, something she was used to doing nowadays.

"I guess you're right, I don't really know why I like it so much, haha."

A mischievous glint shone in Karin's eyes.

"You know, we should _totally _ditch class to watch the football team," she whispered with a slightly stifled giggle. Sakura looked undecided and slightly against the idea but Mei immediately shook her head.

"We've already ditched most of the first semester and if you flunk your dad's going to take away your credit card."

Karin glared at the brunette but quickly retaliated with a fake smile.

"Some cute guys are in this class too."

Sakura repressed a sigh at the statement implying yet another day of "Boy Hunting" with Karin and Mei. Sakura was never really interested in shopping, gossip, or boys but she knew it was one of those things Karin just wouldn't let slide.

_Hadn't they slept with all of the guys at this school already?_

Karin had always been the loud, assertive, openly flirty one that didn't wait very long to strike in every sense of the word. Karin always had to be the leader and on top in every situation possible, which usually meant selling herself to various (and many unattractive) boys and men alike in exchange for money, clothes, shoes, or something to add another rank to her popularity.

Mei was much of the opposite; she was more of the snake type who waited for the perfect moment to strike. She was cunning, quiet, and patient in this aspect of life. However, when the perfect moment comes she was known to be even more seductive and controlling than Karin and very successful too considering she practically _oozed _sexuality with her model-worthy looks and lust-worthy facial characteristics and bust.

Sakura, on the other hand, was still very much a virgin despite she received more offers and flirts than Karin and Mei combined. She was traditional, as her parents had taught her, believing relationships were meant for _after _school and college, and something as _scandalous _as _sex _was strictly meant for after marriage. Of course she never mentioned any of this to Mei or Karin (who assumed she wasn't inexperienced) as she was sure she'd never hear the end of it. Karin was the gossip queen and Mei was like a ninja—she could kill your insides silently with one disapproving look.

"Ew, who's that new kid? I saw him in the hall earlier with that blonde weirdo," Karin suddenly asked, pointing to the back corner of the room with disgust.

Sakura recognized the blonde to be Naruto Uzumaki, one of the greatest friends a person could possibly have. He wasn't someone who cared about labels or statuses and would befriend anyone. He talked loudly and nonstop, usually annoying everyone within hearing distance (which was pretty much the whole school). Sakura liked him though, he was friendly and the least shallow person she knew—even if he'd only talked to her once. Not because he didn't care for her, but because they were rarely in the same places do to their "statuses" (Sakura inwardly scoffed at this).

He played the trumpet in band, a fitting instrument for someone loud as him.

"Psh, he's not worth our time if he hangs out with Naruto," Mei replied with a dismissive wave, "and those jeans and that jacket—the kids needs some TLC What Not to Wear marathons."

Sakura almost laughed at the joke but quickly covered it with a fake cough.

Karin was true though, he did appear to be new considered she'd never seen him last semester. She knew a _lot _of people (most of which Karin didn't approve of) and made many acquaintances because of her open and friendly personality. She was the only one out of the Popular Trio everyone saw as "normal" enough to talk to and Sakura of course wasn't one to push anyone away for any petty high school reasons like Karin or Mei.

"OI, SAKURA-CHAN, HI!"

Sakura looked up to see Naruto now practically bouncing in his seat waving at her with a wide grin. Sakura would have smiled back—if it weren't for Karin and Mei's angry glares on her. It was like they were _daring _her to make a wrong move.

With the whole class looking between her and the still waving Naruto, Sakura was positive the "I didn't hear" trick wouldn't work today.

_Be strong Sakura, Karin and Mei can't possibly torture you...much…_

Sakura beamed back the best she could and waved back with a small "hello". The sweet sparkle of joy and recognition in Naruto's ocean-blue eyes made the life-ending little interaction almost worth it. Almost.

"Um, why the hell are you talking to _Naruto_?" Karin immediately asked loud enough for the whole classroom to hear. The name rolled off her tongue like poison with so much hate a few people in the class visibly shivered, eyes still glued to the unfolding scene before them.

Why did Karin have to choose the very front seats?

_Oh right, so boys would notice her hair flips and lover-eyes._

Sakura blinked.

_Think, think, thiiiiiink!_

"…because he said 'hi'?"

Half of the room burst into giggles but Karin did not look amused in the slightest.

"Are you fucking me?"

_Nah, most of the guys in this class have already done that._

"He's a complete loser for god's sake, he doesn't own a penny to his name!"

"And for the record," Mei added next to her, slightly behind, "he doesn't even have parents anymore, and no one in his family is stupid enough to take him in."

The classroom fell silent as everyone waited for Sakura to make the next move.

A small part of her realized she was one small skip from losing everything and becoming a "Popularity Drop-Out" like Ino. The rest of her was overwhelmed with numbness and guilt as emerald eyes almost tearfully watched the obviously upset Naruto still trying to smile and mouthing "she's right, I'm a loser" playfully. Sakura knew the seriousness of his unspoken words though, he was telling her to forget about him and save herself, maintain her status.

And it was heartbreaking.

The small part of her Karin had influenced over the years told her Naruto was right, and if he was okay with it than take the opportunity. She'd worked hard for her high rank after all.

The other slightly larger part of her that had grown to become her current exterior personality over the years agreed, but to make it up to him later and maybe convince Karin and Mei he wasn't so bad after all. Stay on everyone's good side like a sweet, friendly, innocent girl.

The largest part of Sakura, her true self, aggressively exclaimed "NO". It just isn't right or fair to someone as kind and sweet as Naruto. He was always nothing but good to everyone no matter what the rumors said about them, who are you to berate him like that just because Karin and Mei don't like him? This part of Sakura felt guilt a sadness as well for Naruto's mentioned parent-less predicament.

Sakura took a deep breath before replying with the first response she could think of—

"You're right, Karin, sorry."

Karin smirked.

"Apology accepted, you're new to this popularity thing, don't worry."

Kakashi-sensei entered the room at that exact moment and math began.

* * *

_A/N: Sad, ne? The second chapter is already written and will be posted after... let's say at least three reviews or tomorrow._


	2. The Drama

_A/N: I apologize for this being posted later than expected but I had to redo this several times for the outcome I wanted..._

_A lot of things were revealed. ;)_

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**P**_eace_ **O**_ver _**P**_opularity_

_* * * * * * * * * * *  
_O

o

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Sakura sighed and leaned forward over the toilet seat lid and let her head fall into her hands resting on her knee caps.

It was already the last period of the day and she hadn't had the chance to speak to Naruto at all, let alone apologize. He, along with the new boy, was in many of her classes this semester and every time she looked at him he was busy doing his class work or talking quietly with his friend—both of which were unusual activity for someone loud and school-hating as Naruto.

Sakura of course felt extremely guilty right after the incident and had been too distracted to finish any of her work all afternoon; her grades were already not the best.

She couldn't remember what had possessed her to go along with Karin's plans in sixth grade all the way until now but it all seems so stupid now. Over the three years she'd always been called "most beautiful", "most perfect", and "most popular" she still hadn't found any gratification or joy in the labels her two popular friends craved so much.

_That's a lie._

Sakura frowned, ignoring the thought and instead she thought back to her original friends, before Karin had corrupted her. Ino, Tenten, and Hinata had been there for her since day one and even now they still stuck by her. Sakura neglected them to be honest, she hardly gave them the time of day, turned down their many invites, and practically pretended she didn't know them when Karin or Mei were around—which was most of the time.

A loud bell signally the end of school interrupted Sakura's thoughts and she quickly stood from the toilet. She raked her hands through her pink hair before hoisting her school bags over her shoulder and leaving the restroom.

"Sakura!"

She turned to the familiar, cheerful voice and smiled before being pulled into a hug by three girls she knew _very _well. Hinata, Tenten, and Ino seemed overjoyed to see her and she felt even more guilty for neglecting them.

"Hey guys," Sakura greeted happily, "I'm so—"

"Saku~!"

The group turned to see Karin waving at the pinkette next to Mei surrounded by a group of guys.

Sakura gave Ino, Hinata, and Tenten an apologetic and torn look before Tenten sighed and waved at her to leave.

"Go ahead, hang out with the whore."

Sakura smiled slightly and promised she'd make it up to them later before rushing over to the crowd of popular students.

Once she was out of earshot Ino scoffed.

"Sometimes I think Karin only calls her over just to mock us. When's the last time we've exchanged more than five words with Sakura before Karin comes around?"

"At least a year. Karin's a total bitch."

Even a reserved and polite girl like Hinata had to nod in agreement to Tenten's harsh words.

Ino sighed and tugged her blonde ponytail thoughtfully.

"I can't believe I used to be just like her."

Tenten and Hinata nodded and the three began to converse lightly on random topics as they walked away together.

* * *

A light breeze ruffled Sasuke's dark bangs lightly and he scowled, pulling the hood of his black jacket over his head even more. His pitch black, lifeless eye never left the three girls and group of guys below them inside the nearly empty school building.

Naruto had left a few minutes ago to get a cup of instant ramen from the vending machines* a few minutes ago from their place on a high hill next to Konoha High School. The whole time Sasuke had been just staring at the small crowd, specifically the pink haired one.

Once you got over her appearance with the pink hair, green eyes, short and all she was _still _weird. He'd noticed it the first moment he saw her when he passed by the band room during his tour of the school. He'd been attending Katon Middle/High School until today since his parents' death had forced him to live in a government apartment that was closer to Katon than Konoha. He'd known Naruto in elementary though, and the blonde was overjoyed to hear they'd finally start going to the same school again.

Anyway, he'd noticed it walking by fifth period band. After the initial shock of her pink hair had faded (rather quickly) he noticed she would _not shut up. _Seriously. If she wasn't talking she was laughing, and if she wasn't laughing she was smiling. The girl was annoying from the start and things only seemed to get worse. Then he noticed she had two other friends that apparently didn't like her other friends and vice versa. Her friends seemed used to her leaving but still bothered by it. Still, this was not the _it _he noticed.

Sasuke was greeted by her many times that day, though never personally. He often saw her in the halls talking to at least four people at any given time, and shared many classes with her, more so than Naruto. Even if she wasn't physically there he always heard people talking about her.

The first class he had with her she was sitting up front with the redhead and the brunette. The rumors about them weren't so positive _at all. _After five minutes Naruto suddenly mentioned her and demanded Sasuke look too as if he hadn't seen her enough and wasn't glancing at her occasionally already. Then Naruto just _had _to call her and wave.

Sasuke knew instantly it was a bad move when the room went dead silent and Sakura's expression was a cross between horrified and worried when she turned around.

Sakura replied with an awkward wave with a smile to match and greeted him—which resulted in _someone _overreacting and Sakura breaking Naruto's heart. The blonde was depressed all day, though he tried to hide it. And somewhere along the line Sasuke noticed _it, it _being that Sakura was totally fake.

Everything about her personality was a lie and it was obvious—at least to Sasuke it was.

Sasuke sighed and averted his gaze to the setting sun.

"Annoying," he muttered to himself.

"I'm back," Naruto announced loudly with a grin, walking to his best friend with two cylinder shaped objects in his hands.

Once he reached the railing of the grassy hill Sasuke was leaning over he handed the teen a can of UCC Cold Coffee (Sasuke despised sweet things) and kept the hot cup of chicken flavor instant ramen to himself.

"They ran out of beef flavor ramen when I got there," Naruto whined, burning his tongue when he tried to eat a steaming noodle.

"That's hard to imagine since ramen is so disgusting."

Naruto glared and pouted at Sasuke and was ready to argue when something caught his eye—well some_one_.

He inwardly sighed.

Sakura.

Naruto had been crushing on her for a while and managed to talk to her a while earlier. She had been so nice to him, and people rarely liked talking to Naruto anyway. Something about their "statuses" or whatever would be "harmed" from talking to "someone like him".

Naruto hated statuses.

He hated people who thought they were better than anyone else, and that's exactly what statuses represented. Naruto's whole life he'd been looked down upon, even before birth his parents were a "disgrace" because of their low class.

It made him sick.

But Sakura didn't care about any of it and treated him like a true human being no better or worse than herself. She was real, down to Earth, and genuine. He couldn't fathom why everyone called her a perfect angel, when he purposefully (or not) said something insulting or pushed her buttons she'd show him—_with her fists. _Seconds later she'd laugh it off and smile with forgiveness and friendship. It made him _so _happy.

Then today…he didn't know what happened to her today to do something so out of character. Something insulting like that wouldn't faze him at all; he'd grown used to it over the many, _many _years and would laugh if anything at all. But she'd gotten to him with that single conversation they'd shared and she quickly became about as special to him as Sasuke. It seemed she understood him, through and through as if she knew how he felt from experience. Her opinion had become the opinion of someone special, something you seek and take great consideration for.

And her opinion was he utterly worthless.

Because he wasn't perfect like her.

Because he didn't have parents.

Because he was Naruto Uzumaki and Naruto Uzumaki is complete trash no matter what.

"She's annoying."

Naruto was brought out of his thoughts by Sasuke's light voice next to him. He almost thought he imagined the words because Sasuke looked so emotionless and still like a statue.

"Huh? Who?" Naruto asked dumbly noting his noodles were no longer warm with disappointment. The sun was nearly completely down by now and there were only a few students below them, most rushing home for dinner.

"That girl…"

Sasuke lazily pointed to the general direction of the center of the school courtyard where Karin, Sakura, Mei, and some other males were standing around in a circle chatting. Naruto squinted.

"Karin, the redhead?"

Sasuke scowled, not liking to explain himself.

"No, th—"

"Mei, the brunette?"

"N—"

"Ryuu the blonde guy?"

"Th—"

"Jong the Korean with freckles?"

"No, dobe! The pink haired one," Sasuke snapped irritably.

Naruto blinked.

"Oh, you mean Sakura-chan!"

_So Sakura is her name…_

"Yes, her."

…

"What about her?"

Sasuke almost facepalmed.

"She's really cool," Naruto suddenly continued, looking over at Sasuke with a goofy grin on his face. Sasuke was surprised the blonde could say that after what she'd said about him earlier. Naruto seemed to read the teen's thoughts.

"She's not usually like that; she just acts weird around Karin and Mei. I don't know the full story but rumors say in sixth grade Karin called Sakura her 'project' and tried to make her popular. I don't know why or if it's true but it seems stupid, right?"

Sasuke didn't reply.

"If you want to hear the full story you'll have to ask Ino Yamanaka. She used to be popular too but I heard she gave it all up for some girl back in sixth grade. Anyway, she's Sakura's best friend besides Karin and she was there during the whole thing."

Naruto then laughed a bit.

"I wish I went to their school, sixth grade sounded like a fun year."

And thus a conversation about sushi began. (Lolwhut?)

* * *

Karin frowned in a mock pout as she looked up from her Droid.

"Aw, school's closing soon, guys."

Mai smiled flirtatiously at Ryuu.

"Maybe we can all hang at somewhere else, my parents are out of town for a while…"

The group gave each other suggestive looks and Sakura took a hesitant step back.

"I have some stuff to do for school tomorrow, I'll see you later Karin, Mei,"

Before Karin could protest Sakura was already at the door.

Mei frowned.

"Killjoy."

* * *

Sakura groaned and took another challenging step up the steep hill to the left of the school. The closest vending machine was just a few meters away, red bean ice cream was just within her reach—

And Naruto just _had _to be there too, talking to his quiet friend with a cup of ramen in his hand.

Sakura prayed he wouldn't see her. As much as she wanted to run over and tell him she was sorry and wrong and all of that she was afraid. Afraid of his response.

She'd started a rumor about Karin once when she was talking with Ino and someone overhead. She begged profusely for Karin's forgiveness but the redhead just ignored her and said she'd never forgive Sakura but she'd move on.

Another time she'd accidentally spilled ice cream in Mei's Corvette when the brunette told her to hold the treat for her while she looked for her ID card. Mei was furious to say the least and to this day rarely talked much when Sakura was around.

And then there was her mother, someone everyone should be able to feel most comfortable with and apologize without a second thought. So she apologized for something she didn't understand why she was at fault for, and her mother never forgave her for her divorce.

_He wouldn't forgive me anyway, may as well not even waste his time anymore._

Sakura pressed her back against the vending machine in attempt to hide. The change in her hands clinked together lightly with her jittery movements and she suddenly didn't feel so in the mood for ice cream anymore.

Amaranth locks fell to the side with movement of her head and Sakura squeezed her eyes shut in attempt to stop the tears from falling. The sun was almost completely gone and the night time air began to take over, causing small shivers to rack her body every once in a while. The only noise besides the light rustles in the trees of the forest around her was Naruto's excited conversation.

_Please hurry up and leave…_

"I'm gonna buy another ramen!"

Sakura's emerald eyes shot open and panic rushed through her body, chilling her feet and causing small beads of sweat to form on her hands.

The soft thuds of footsteps drew nearer and she cursed herself for her bad timing.

_Relax, you were just getting an ice cream anyway…_

She took a deep breath and looked up to find a surprised looking Naruto already standing in front of her.

"…Hi."

* * *

_*- In Japan most vending machines sell things like ice cream, ramen, hot coffee, cold coffee, coffee milk, tea, hamburgers, and such._

_A/N: So this chapter is getting some drama and starting to lead to some interesting things, huh?_

_All will be revealed in time and don't worry, **SASUSAKU WILL START SOON!**_

_So have patience, young grasshopper. ^^_


	3. The True Friends

_A/N: I'd just like to point out that someone has asked me if this fanfiction was inspired by the song "Popularity" by The Veronicas and to be completely honest, I've never even heard of the song. I guess you can say this just came to me. XD Either way, I hope that answers your question, __トケイ__._

_Also, to everyone else, I'm currently in the process of finding a cover for this fic, making it less bland. -cheers-_

_Also to _**Pilar Ann **_since she never replies to my PMs (-cries-), I do really love your long reviews so don't worry. ^^_

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**P**_eace_ **O**_ver _**P**_opularity_

_* * * * * * * * * * *  
_O

o

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Naruto smiled slightly, an awkward silence following the greeting.

"Yeah, hi Sakura-chan…"

…

Sakura shuffled her feet uncomfortably and avoided eye contact.

"…Can you move please?"

Sakura met his gaze with surprise before flushing in embarrassment and quickly stepping away from the vending machine she was hiding behind moments ago. Naruto stepped forward and slid a bill and a few cents in the correct slots before pushing the button for chicken ramen and waiting for the machine to finish. After a few seconds the machine let out a small ding and Naruto opened the door to reveal a cup of steaming ramen with orange letters saying "Top Ramen Chicken" as a small pair of disposable chopsticks attached to the side.

_I have to say something at least…_

Sakura took another deep breath and gulped nervously, avoiding looking at the blonde now walking back over to his emo-like friend.

She took a hesitant step forward and realized it was now too late to chicken out. Sasuke's steady gaze assured her that much. Naruto looked over to the tomato red girl in confusion. Had he missed something?

"I…" Sakura murmured slowly, staring a hole into a shred of dark green grass lightly grazing the side of her heel-clad right foot. The silence was about as deafening as a train now and she could practically feel their stares on her body like lasers.

_Even if he doesn't forgive you, and even if he hates you, you still have other friends right?_

The words slightly comforted her and slightly made her even more nervous. She vaguely realized she hadn't apologized to anyone in years and had almost completely forgotten how the process went. It was supposed to be simple, right? One person says "sorry" and the other says "it's ok". But her apologies never seemed to go like that; the other didn't give their forgiveness.

"I'm…" Sakura began again.

_Meet his eyes; say it with meaning at least!_

She glanced up, locked eye with Naruto, and everything just broke loose like a dam.

"I'm sorry for what I said earlier in class, I didn't mean it, I swear! Karin looked at me and, and, I didn't know what to do," Sakura was too caught up in guilt and regret to notice her words were becoming muddled and never-ending.

"I didn't know about your parents but I'm really, really, really, sorry and—"

"Sakura-chan, calm do—"

She promptly burst into tears and plopped on the ground.

Naruto stared at her wide-eyed, not really sure what to do and even Sasuke looked a little surprised.

Sakura held her face in her palms and inwardly demanded herself to stop crying but she was stressed, and tired, and confused, and just _lost. _The tears wouldn't stop and she now felt embarrassed on top of it all for crying in front of a person she barely knew as well as a complete stranger.

After a moment Naruto kneeled down and hesitantly placed a friendly, albeit awkward, hand on the sobbing girl's shoulder. He then attempted to verbally comfort her.

"Um, Sakura, it's all right, really, uh…"

Naruto glanced at Sasuke mouthing "DO SOMETHING".

Sasuke just glared at him, silently telling him he wasn't the type of person to _comfort _people, especially not a total stranger…well, somewhat of a stranger.

Naruto retaliated with a glare of his own and threatened to beat the teen up.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. With a black belt in Taekwondo he couldn't find himself to take the dobe even moderately serious. But Naruto did look worried, and there was a tiny part of Sasuke that was worried too.

He sighed and sat on the slightly damp grass next to the girl.

Sakura seemed to not have noticed or either didn't care because she made no sudden movements. Sasuke frowned slightly in concentration as he tried to recall how someone would comfort another person.

Naruto had luckily already tried his version of the "supportive hand on shoulder" and Sasuke really didn't want to touch her. He hated any types of physical contact from anyone.

He _could _do the "pep talk" thing but he didn't like talking either, and he wouldn't have anything to say. Sasuke hadn't even truly met the girl yet and he wasn't very good with words. He preferred straight to the point, the three W's: who, what, when, and where. Even then he'd slack off and skip most words.

"I'll go get ice cream!"

Sasuke glared.

Leave it to Naruto to find a way to implicate food into any situation.

Naruto left to the two and jogged to the fending machine a few meters away. Sasuke refrained from cursing his friend out loud.

Swallowing his pride Sasuke opened his mouth to speak.

"What…is the problem?"

_That didn't come out right_, Sasuke thought.

He sighed when he received so answer, only more hardly suppressed sobs. Naruto had better hurry up…

"I-I'm sorry." Sakura mumbled through sniffles, "I shouldn't have came in the first place, Naruto wouldn't forgive me anyway."

Sasuke spared her a glance and sighed, putting an arm around her.

"Naruto would forgive anyone no matter what, he's stupid like that."

The occasional sniffles became a small giggle.

"I wish Karin and Mei were more like Naruto…"

_And my mom…_

Sasuke gave her a questioning look, silently asked for her to elaborate.

"They're not as…nice."

Sasuke didn't push any further and silently stared at the stars ahead of them. It was one of the things he liked about the hill so much; there was a perfect view of the sky. Sasuke wasn't into astronomy or anything but the quiet and light twinkle of the stars made it easier to think and that was comforting in itself.

It didn't register to him that his arm was still around Sakura's shoulders, or that she had laid her head against his shoulder.

"SAKURA-CHAN," Naruto called

Sakura jumped in surprise, not realizing he'd came over so soon.

"You're not crying anymore!"

Sakura blushed in embarrassment.

"Ehe, yeah…"

A bar shaped object wrapped in plastic was suddenly thrust into her face, causing her to accidently lean back more into Sasuke.

"They ran out of all the good flavors so I had to get that nasty red bean Azuki Bar crap."

Sakura smiled thankfully and took the ice cream bar from his hand.

"Red bean is my favorite, actually," Sakura replied, happily opening the wrapped.

Naruto made a face.

"You're almost as weird of a friend as Sasuke!"

"Hn."

"See!?"

Sakura paused right before she would have taken a bite.

"So… this means you forgive me?"

The blonde stared at her like she had grown suddenly morphed into an alien.

"Duh!"

Naruto plopped down beside Sakura ungracefully and looped their arms together, grinning.

"That's what true friends are for, right?"

Sakura frowned at the new term she'd never heard before.

_True _friends.

Almost instantly the image of Ino, Tenten, and Hinata popped up in her head.

_And now Naruto, _she added to herself with a small smile.

Sakura's head turned the opposite direction to Sasuke who had removed his arm from her shoulder by now. He wasn't paying attention to her or Naruto (who was now talking about how weird she was) and was just staring at the sky emotionlessly.

"Um," Sakura suddenly realized she didn't even know his name yet.

_I think Naruto said 'Sasuke" earlier…_

"Sasuke," She tested quietly, unsure.

Sasuke looked over at her and nodded slightly as both verification and for her to continue.

"I'm sorry about earlier to you as well since, um, you were kind of in the same category, I really didn-"

"It's okay," Sasuke cut her off. She must have been rambling.

Sasuke gave her a small smile and grabbed her hand in reassurance before looking back at the sky.

"—And why would you dye your hair pink, that's so weird!"

Sakura's head snapped over to Naruto immediately who disregarded the look and continued on about another "weird" thing about her. She huffed and promptly kicked him in the gut from her seated position since both of her arms/hands were occupied.

Naruto coughed violently and fell back, the air being knocked out of him.

He released her right arm to clutch his aching stomach and moaned in pain.

Sakura inwardly groaned, realizing her old personality had come out. She berated herself for having done something so hotheaded and rash _immediately _after finally winning Naruto's trust and forgiveness. Maybe she should have stuck around with Karin and Mei after all…

"Sakura-chan, you sho-gasp-uld totally –gasp- try out for kickboxing!" Naruto cried out between gasps from the ground.

Sakura smiled and a definition came to mind.

_True friends will always forgive you._

* * *

_A/N: TWO UPDATES IN ONE DAY!_

_SasuSaku happened a bit here, eh? Wink, wink!_

_Also, Sakura seems already comfortable with Sasuke and Naruto (at least a little) since she revealed a part of her true self. _

_There are a lot of implications and details in here that I hope you all notice. _

_Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. ^^_


	4. The Loss of Ino

****_A/N: __This story has been edited and some chapters may have been deleted or replaced because of my new idea for this fic._

* * *

**P_eace _****O_ver _****P_opularity_**

**___* * * * * * * * * * *  
_O**

**_o_**

**_._**

_**Suna Elementary School, 6**__**th**__** Grade Class 4-B**_

"_Oh wow, Ino, you look amazing!"_

_The blonde smiled and twirled around in her new dress in front of the classroom. Eyes followed the graciously spinning light blue fabric that seemed to sparkle. Ino stopped in a pose that had many people in a state of awe from her utter beauty. _

_Her hair long hair was styled into princess curls her mother had taken the time to do for her before work and Ino even added a little blue eye shadow and pink lip gloss. It was her tradition to look her absolute best on the first day of school every year._

_Her blue eyes lit up when she spotted a familiar group of girls in the back of their new classroom. She quickly skipped over to them in joy._

_Hinata smiled and greeted her with a compliment._

"_You…look very beautiful, Ino-chan," the dark haired girl whispered shyly._

_Hinata was dressed in an expensive looking outfit herself consisting of a knee-length black skirt, a light purple blouse, and black flats. It was simple and sweet, just like the girl herself. _

_Tenten, who wore a casual traditional Chinese top and knee-length capri pants, nodded and Ino turned to the last friend in the group._

_Sakura blinked._

"_Why would you wear a dress to school? It's a casual setting, not the red carpet."_

_She pouted playfully at her pink-haired friend before pulling all three of her girls into a hug._

_Sakura was dressed in a white button-up top and blue skinny jeans with her beloved converse high tops. _

_Hinata was telling a story about her brother (Tenten seemed a little too interested in this particular story) when a girl walked up to the group boldly. Hinata and Tenten looked up and Ino and Sakura turned around to see a girl looking over each of them with calculating eyes as if inspecting._

_The whole classroom was now looking at the new girl who wasn't at their school last year. Something about her drew everyone in, made them want to know her, talk to her, be like her. Something about her seemed so completely cool and perfect._

_After a moment the girl flipped her hair back with one hand and adjusted her glasses with her other._

"_I'm Karin."_

* * *

Sakura, for once, had woken up well rested and happy. Her usual mornings consisted of a prayer of "five more minutes" or a "please let a natural disaster hit and school be canceled" until she absolutely _had _to get up. Though, the excitement and well-rested state was because last night she'd made two new friends—and dare she say it—_true _friends.

She quickly showered and combed through her bright hair before skipping over to her closet. A serious, determined expression suddenly found its way to her features and her eyes drifted over every last piece of fabric in the whole closet with intimidation. Karin and Mei usually helped her pick out most of her outfits in the malls when they all shopped together. She couldn't remember the last time she'd worn converses…

Sakura quickly dismissed the nostalgic thoughts with a shake of her head and pulled out a black skirt and red low-cut blouse from Karin. She added a black tank top to not go _completely _against her morals and slipped on a pair of red heels, also from Karin.

After getting dressed and packing her school belongings Sakura headed out the door with a quick "I'm leaving now" to her mother.

Outside, as usual, Karin and Mei were waiting in Karin's purple red Lexus. Mei refused to allow anyone but a select few in her own car and absolutely _no one _was allowed to drive it, especially not someone known for tickets like Karin. Sakura hurried to the girls and got in the backseat (Mei took the passenger seat and Karin of course drove). Karin began driving once Sakura shut the door.

"Why are you so cheerful," Mei asked, though Sakura doubted Mei was curious for the right reasons. Another secret about Mei was that she was even nosier than Karin, though in a more roundabout, cunning way.

Sakura shook her head with a light "nothing really" and Karin started up a conversation about the boys from last night. Sakura pretended not to notice Mei's suspicious look through the rearview mirror or her lack of comments in the conversation.

* * *

"Sakura!"

The pinkette turned at the call of her name once she walked into the school building . A smile immediately adorned her features as she spotted her first best friend, Ino Yamanaka, along with their other friends Tenten and Hinata.

The girls immediately hugged and exchanged compliments in a typical feminine fashion before Ino grabbed an alarmed Sakura's shoulders with both hands. Ino had a small sparkle of excitement in her eyes as she spoke.

"You. Us. Friday. Ultimate sleepover."

Hinata and Tenten nodded from beside Ino which led Sakura to assume her friends had been planning this for a while. She considered going.

It would be a great experience really, she hadn't seen any of her old friends for more than five minutes outside of school nor had she been to a _real _sleepover in a while. Mei's sleepovers were usually a make-out fest more than anything since she invited most of the popular boys at school. Besides, it would be on a _Friday, _no school the next day so her mother wouldn't be able to say no. It's not like Sakura was planning on doing anything Friday anywa—

Just as the "y" of "yes" was rolling off her tongue Sakura was grabbed from behind and pulled back onto the plump tissue stuffing of Karin's "chest". Sakura winced as the girl's red nails dug into the skin of her small arms. That would _definitely _leave a mark.

"Oh great timing, Sak," Mei called from beside Karin, "we were just about to invite you to a party _Friday_."

Mei gave a pointedly smug look to Ino as she said "Friday" and Ino shot a vicious dirty look back along with Tenten and a not so vicious look from Hinata.

"I have pla—"

"Everyone who matters will be there, and it's in the coolest venue ever. Oh," Karin added an afterthought.

"And there won't be any alcohol so don't get bitchy."

Viridian eyes shifted uncomfortably between Karin and Ino in a moment of desperation. After a moment Ino huffed and turned, motioning for Tenten and Hinata to follow. Karin and Mei exchanged smirks.

"Forget it, Haruno, it was a stupid idea anyway," Ino called without looking back.

And Sakura felt like she'd been stung in the chest.

* * *

_A/N: It's relatively short and the next chapter will be as well but it will make sense by the third. ^^_

_ Thank you for reading~!_


	5. The Unsuspected Event

_**WARNING: **This chapter is borderline M-rated in theme with sexual suggestions and near-rape details. You have been warned._

* * *

**P_eace _****O_ver _****P_opularity_**

**___* * * * * * * * * * *  
_O**

**_o_**

**_._**

The rest of the week leading up to the party felt like a blur to Sakura. A slow, uneventful blur of black white and blue. Every time she saw Ino whether in the hall or in the same classes Ino would never talk to her or even look at her. Ino wasn't avoiding her, that wasn't it at all, but rather, Ino was acting as if she didn't know Sakura anymore. As if they're friendship never existed and Sakura was a complete stranger.

And looking back Sakura realizes the now she is just that, a complete stranger.

The night of the party Karin, Mei, and Sakura prepared separately. Mei usually helped Sakura with her makeup and Karin usually picked Sakura's outfit while gossiping about their latest boyfriends but the whole week had been so topsy-turvy and out of order Sakura wasn't surprised about the end result.

Sakura decided to go simple, too depressed to really dress up. She wore a simple black dress (Karin made it clear that she would be the only one wearing red) about knee-length with a halter neckline and black heels. Her shoulder-length hair was left loose but neatly so and her make-up was very light.

Her mother called for her to be safe and stay away from boys in a typical motherly fashion as Sakura left her house and walked the short way to the party. Karin had given her directions days before and Sakura was glad the sun was barely setting so she could read the sloppy handwriting.

* * *

When Mei said the venue was big she was definitely lying.

The place was _huge. _

Sakura triple-checked the address on her directions map and if it weren't for the light vibrations of music she could hear from the outside she would have turned around and told Karin the map was wrong. Instead she gulped and cautiously walked towards the traditional style mansion.

The house was four stories high, each story getting smaller by a few inches than the one below it up to the top. Okinawan Shisa dogs stood watch from the highest, dark brown curved roof in an almost creepy way.

For once Sakura thought Karin may have made a good decision in her life. The party couldn't possibly be inappropriate if it's in such a grand traditional structure right?

Wrong.

The first thing Sakura smelled when she entered the main entrance was sweat, followed by the distinct stench of alcohol.

She should have expected it, really. Mei always lies, what made the party so different. Sakura turned on her heels to leave only to bump into a familiar figure.

"Saks, you made it!"

Karin.

Karin practically hauled the pinkette into the party room and to the bar-like counter in less than five seconds. Mei sat on Sakura's other side as if she knew Sakura would attempt to make a run for it—which she probably did.

"C'mon, help yourself to some punch," Karin chimed, lifting a fruity red liquid to Sakura's lips in a plastic cup. Sakura could hardly hear what Karin was saying over the blaring hip hop music playing.

"Uh, I think I'll pass," Sakura quickly said, pushing the cup away from her alcohol-virgin lips.

Karin scowled for a second before a group of gasps were heard behind the girls. They all shifted their gaze to see a tall, well built teenager entering the room with a handsome smile and slight bow to the squealing girls around him.

"Oh my god, Riku's here!"

Karin grinned and fluffed her crimson hair before making her way over, followed by a seductive Mei. Sakura sighed in relief when they left for the popular boy and turned to look for a less noticeable exit.

Across from her in nearly every direction were various bodies dancing and conversing with grins on their faces. Dresses barely reaching below the bottom on average, crossing the line of "slut" instantly. Everyone was moving to the beat of some popular song playing and the vibrations from the speakers across the room from her felt like they were going to topple her off her stool.

By now the outside was pitch-black, making the neon strobe lights of the party even more blinding. She mentally cursed her pink hair for standing out so much in the dark corner of the room she sat in. He hair and eyes seemed to look like glowsticks or highlighters. Sakura seriously considered dying her hair black for a moment.

A tap on her shoulder stopped her.

"Are you lost," A male slurred behind her.

Sakura turned to see a boy most likely from her school sitting beside her with a small smirk on his face and almost hypnotic eyes.

"Oh, no I'm fine," She replied with a polite smile before turning back around to look from a back door.

She felt the warmth of his hand on her shoulder and flinched in reflex, only to have his iron grip tighten and him to lean forward to her ear, heated breath fanning the right side of her face.

"I think I can help you out," he slurred once more.

And in that moment Sakura realized two quite obvious things she should have noticed much sooner.

He was drunk and they were alone in the back of the party.

Sakura tried to pull away from him but his strength was at least twice as great as her own and he pulled her up to her feet with a drunken chuckle, covering her mouth with his other hand.

Within only a few torturously long moments he'd dragged her outside of the mansion and into an unoccupied shed-like building. Sakura kicked and punched and screamed and flailed around madly, only eliciting taunting chuckles from the man pining her down.

Never in a million years had Sakura imagined herself being in such a situation, nor did she imagine not being able to escape from this situation. Every since she was a young child all she'd heard was comments on how strong she was for her age and how great of a martial artist she would be. She beat all the boys in arm wrestling in third grade, she'd prided herself on beating up an eighth grader during fifth grade and she'd won various strength competitions in middle school.

But now, with her heart pounding frantically in her chest and a male beginning to undress himself above her she didn't feel so strong. She felt helpless, and it was the worst feeling in the world.

He gave her a chilling lusty look and began pulling her black dress down sloppily. The adrenaline began to lose it's magic and her muscles could no longer keep up with her desperate attempts to push him off.

"Hey,"

* * *

_To be continued..._

_(P.S: Don't flip out, this fic won't be depressing or horror-like, I promise.)_


	6. The Reason

**P_eace _****O_ver _****P_opularity_**

**___* * * * * * * * * * *  
_O**

**_o_**

**_._**

_But now, with her heart pounding frantically in her chest and a male beginning to undress himself above her she didn't feel so strong. She felt helpless, and it was the worst feeling in the world._

_He gave her a chilling lusty look and began pulling her black dress down sloppily. The adrenaline began to lose its magic and her muscles could no longer keep up with her desperate attempts to push him off._

"Hey,"

Sakura whipped her head to the side from under the male praying to see someone willing to help her.

Hey eyes widened in surprise along with the man on top of her to see none other than Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto.

Naruto was dressed in his usual orange and black jacket and matching pants with a black undershirt beneath the jacket. Sasuke was wearing his usual dark blue (it was hard to tell the color in the dark) hoodie and black jeans. Both boys looked murderous and Sakura's almost-rapist tensed at the aura.

"Wh-what do you want," He called in a failed attempt to sound like he wasn't scared out of his mind.

Naruto wordlessly hauled the teen off Sakura and pushing him into the cream colored gate surrounding the mansion. A dull cracking sound of skull and cement hitting each other resounded into the night faintly and Sasuke helped Sakura to her feet. She stumbled slightly and her legs almost gave out from exhaustion and the trauma of it all but Sasuke was quick to hold her up with an arm comfortingly around her waist. After he finished helping her adjust her black dress and a shoe that had fallen off they turned to Naruto and the now unconscious half-naked male on the ground.

"What should we do with him," Naruto asked, not-so-lightly "nudging" the boy with his foot in the side. Sasuke glared at the motionless boy for a second before shaking his head at Naruto.

"Just leave him. He'll probably suffer enough in embarrassment anyway."

Naruto nodded before shifting his attention to Sakura who was attempting to remove her now tear-smeared makeup with her hands.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto called cheerfully.

She lifted her head from her hands curiously at the grinning blonde. Sakura still looked disorientated and confused but no one could blame her after experiencing a near-rape situation.

"Let's go get ice cream, all three of us!" He suggested happily, "I know a place that serves that nasty azuki stuff, and they even have ramen ice cream!"

Sakura smiled. He still remembers her favorite ice cream flavor.

* * *

Twenty minutes later found the three in a quiet ice cream parlor with at least a hundred different outrageous and delicious flavors.

Sakura had gotten azuki flavor, of course.

Naruto had ramen flavor (ew), of course.

And Sasuke had boring vanilla…of course.

Naruto sat literally inhaling his ramen ice cream. Sasuke had offered Sakura his hoodie which she now cuddled up in and giggled at his bedhead hair which he'd glare half-heartedly at her for.

He couldn't be honestly angry at her for anything.

After a few minutes of playful talking and light joking with each other Sakura bit her lip as she prepared herself for what she'd say.

"Um," She began, drawing the attention of the boys beside her.

"Thank you for saving me and… if I can repay you guys in any way…" Sakura trailed off shyly.

There was a beat of silence before Naruto guffawed and wrapped a brotherly arm aroung her shoulders.

"Friends don't repay other friends, right Sasuke?"

Sasuke gave Naruto an annoyed look and Sakura guessed Naruto owed the raven-haired teen a few debts. Sakura smiled anyway and thanked them again.

Being with Sasuke and Naruto her worries disappeared and she felt snugly secured in a blanket of calm.

* * *

Sakura's night officially ended when she parted ways with Sasuke and Naruto at about 2:00AM. She was slightly surprised how late she'd stayed out with the two having fun at an ice cream parlor. Sasuke had told her to keep the hoodie for the rest of the weekend since the weather was getting colder at night. All the way home she smiled and practically skipped down the streets.

Once she was home, however, her happiness ended.

"Sakura," her mother called once Sakura shut the front door.

Ms. Haruno rushed to her daughter and looked her over before quickly snapping.

"Where the hell were you, do you realize how late it is!?"

Sakura apologized and explained that she'd ran into some friends on the way and lost track of time. She purposefully left out the rape incident. Her mother excepted the partial truth but still looked mad. Sakura frowned.

Her mother had always been like this since her father left, always quick to be angered and unaffectionate. When her father left was when her mother's life had really begun to fall apart and Sakura was left trying to catch the pieces for her own sake.

After a few scolds Sakura was upstairs with pajamas on and lying in bed restlessly. Her room was average sized in Japan with one sliding window above the headboard of her bed. The moon was full and almost too bright for a good rest as it shone on part of her form and a rectangle of the carpet of her room.

She sighed and turned over as if she'd really be able to sleep at all tonight.

* * *

_**6**__**th**__** Grade,**_

"_Where's dad?"_

_There was no reply as a woman continued to pack her luggage. She tossed a jacket to her daughter who barely managed to catch it and brushed past the girl to the door, silently telling her daughter to follow or be left._

_Sakura followed her mother's fast walk with her own jog as they left the house for what she doesn't realize then is the last time. She finds herself seated in the passenger seat with several suitcases and bags in the backseat and her mother in the front speeding down the road with an vice-like grip on the steering wheel and clenched teeth._

_Sakura, for once, decides it's best not to bluntly speak her mind and opts to stay silent. _


	7. The Life of Karin I

**P**_eace_ **O**_ver_**P**_opularity_

_* * * * * * * * * * *  
_O

o

.

_**Ten Years Ago,**_

_Muffled sobs fill the air of the otherwise quiet park. In the distance cars zoom by, the engines making a soft buzzing sound as they passed one another. The crying six year old, however, paid no mind as she unsuccessfully willed her tears to stop._

_She was seated below a large oak tree on the far side of the empty November playground. Her knees were pushed up to her chest with arms wrapped over each knee and her face buried in the gap between. He body shivered and raked with her sobs and her medium-length red hair was in disarray. _

_She'd been crying for what felt like hours and the front of her purple shirt was warm and damp. What would her parents do if they saw her now? The thought only brought more fat tears to roll down her childish cheeks and land on the grass below._

_A shuffle and the feeling of another presence came to her attention and she looked up wide-eyed, forgetting her most likely awful appearance._

_Before her stood a tall girl around her age with slightly wavy orange hair, a smile on her face as she offered her hand._

"_I'm Mei."_

* * *

Karin Watanabe gasped and her upper body flew up into a sitting position. Her redish eyes skittered across her large bedroom disorientated and her right hand subconsciously clutched her chest above her frantically beating heart. After a few seconds her tense body relaxed a bit and her heart went back to a normal pace.

_I haven't had that nightmare in a while…_

Karin shook her head of her pointless thoughts and stood from her king sized bed. She stretched for a moment and headed over to the mirror in her bathroom, frowning once she saw her reflection. He head throbbed slightly and her face showed how her body felt—

_Hungover._

She scowled at the dark bags under her eyes and reached for her always-handy foundation. She struggled to unscrew the round black top for a moment but finally got the container open and the smell of minerals floated up at her. She tapped the pale liquid lightly before looking back at the mirror and reaching up to apply generous (too much) amounts under each eye and over any blemishes.

Within two minutes she was finished and she quickly rinsed off her hands and headed downstairs. She walked slowly from both her handover due to the party last night and her dread of seeing her family.

Karin's father, being the successful business man he is, wasn't home very often. She was thankful for that for various reasons. However, the few times he was home there was always hell to be paid for some reason or another.

Karin was convinced the man took notes of all the things he could blame her for. He'd begin with a normal enough complaint, "why did you fail this test". Then it quickly became a tedious nit-picking she had become accustomed to over her sixteen years.

"You drink too much orange juice."

"Why aren't you wearing those shoes your grandmother bought you?"

"Where the hell is your napkin?"

"You can't do anything right, can you."

"Has your mother been teaching you to walk like that?"

And of course, to make matters worse, her mother would be join in as well. It seemed to be a cycle, dad gets mad at Karin which overflows to Mrs. Watanabe who in turn is upset at Karin for getting _her _in trouble.

Karin stopped on the last stair to the living room when she heard a gruff male voice to in the dining room to her left.

"Where the hell is she, does she always sleep in so late?"

Her father.

Karin's right fist clenched on the rail of the stair and her other hand brushed against a tender spot on her side that caused her to flinch slightly.

It seemed today would be another day of bruises and scars.

* * *

Bright blue radiantly shone as the early morning sun poured through Ino's white lace curtains on three snoozing girls.

One of these girls, Tenten, immediately awoke from the sudden warmth and brightness in her face. She stifled a yawn and attempted to sit up only to realize something on her arm and chest was holding her in place. She tiredly turned her head to the right to see what the object was, long dark brown locks falling over her face slightly. Her eyebrows scrunched together to see a sleeping Ino's right leg on her. Suddenly the memories and self-awareness came back to her sleepy form and she remembered Ino's sleep over last night.

A glace below revealed an also sleeping Hinata in a more reserved position with both hands under her head like a pillow.

Tenten turned her head back towards the ceiling and resisted the urge to groan. Just her luck.

Today she was that one person at sleepovers that wakes up before everyone else and has to sit there awkwardly for another hour until someone else wakes up.

She silently sighed and began the wait, cursing Ino for being in a position where she couldn't move without making the blonde.

Luckily, Tenten only had to wait a few minutes until Ino and Hinata comically woke up at the same time, looking as confused as her until their brains processed where they were and why.

Ino sat up and stretched with a loud yawn while Tenten relished in finally being able to stretch herself.

"G'morning," Ino greeted lazily.

Tenten grunted and Hinata had the decency to form a verbal reply.

"Last night was fun," She announced.

Ino frowned and the blue schemed bedroom grew silent for a long moment.

Tenten was the one to break the silence.

"I've had enough of this," Ino and Hinata snapped their eyes at the brunette in surprise.

"Stop pretending everything is fine and Sakura isn't a big deal! This whole sleepover was completely different without her and frankly _boring. _Why didn't you talk to her more, Ino!? We all know what's going to happen if we don't stop Karin and Mei!"

Ino glared at Tenten and Hinata looked between her friends worriedly.

"Sakura is old enough to do what she wants, I'm not her mother. Who are we to keep her from who she hangs out with or what she wants."

"Good friends!" Tenten shot back just as quickly.

"Guys—" Hinata shyly called to stop the steadily heating argument. She was quickly ignored.

"You wouldn't understand Tenten, your life has always been perfect!"

"As if you're one to tal-!"

"STOP!"

Tenten and Ino both turned to the usually reserved Hyuuga flabbergasted at the volume she'd just reached. Hinata gave stern looks to them both and they promptly shut their mouths.

"Arguing isn't helping either cause right now. I think we should really sit down and hear each other out like civilized human beings."

All three nodded and turned their bodies to face each other in a small triangle shape. Ino and Tenten sat in "criss-cross apple sauce" while Hinata, with a night gown on, sat in a traditional Japanese style.

"First," Tenten began making eye contact with Ino, "Why did you give up being popular anyway?"

Ino sighed and looked down.

"It happened about three years ago,"

* * *

_A/N: Terrible cliffhanger, I know. XD _

_Stay tuned?_


	8. The Truth of Ino

**P**_eace_ **O**_ver_**P**_opularity_

_* * * * * * * * * * *  
_O

o

.

"It happened three years ago," Ino began.

* * *

_A young Yamanaka Ino skipped cheerfully down the urban streets of Konoha on her way home after yet another wonderful day of school. A smile adorned her face and a small hum escaped her lips in content. Yamanaka Ino had very rarely found a reason _not _to be happy; it was just a part of her bubbly personality. This little quirk of sorts probably contributed to her immense popularity among her peers._

"_Ino?"_

_Said girl paused her skipping at the call of her name and looked up to see Ami, a girl from her class._

_Ami had always had short dark blue tinted hair messily cut to just before her shoulder and one slightly longer piece on the front left. He eys matched her hair if not a bit duller and she often wore an orange striped apron-like top and deep red skirt reaching a bit below her bony knees. Ami wasn't a very popular girl nor was she unique in any way other than how _un-unique _she was but Ino wasn't one to pay attention to such things._

"_I thought it was you," Ami added with a nervous chuckle and relieved smile._

_Ami quickly ran over to the Ino after a quick glance back to her parents' small shop she helped manage after school._

"_Hey," Ino greeted cheerfully hugging the girl in a friendly way as she did to everyone. The two began to slowly walk the way Ino was originally going in a comfortable silence. The air was slightly chilly at that time of year but it was bearable in their casual clothing. The sun was slightly past setting by now and the sky was a medium grey color with many plump clouds lingering above._

"_You're really different from the others," Ami suddenly said quietly, looking down._

_Ino turned he head slightly to the girl beside her curiously. Before she could ask further a loud gasp resounded in both girls' ears followed by a "shhh" from another voice. The girls subconsciously turned their bodies towards the noises that seemed to be coming behind one of the many buildings lining the urban sidewalk. Ami and Ino exchanged curious looks before silently agreeing to sneak a little further near the voices._

_They crouched down next to a wall of a phone company and Ino peered over the edge of the wall while Ami peered over Ino's left shoulder. Down the wide gap between the phone company's side wall and the wall of a neighboring bakery stood two girls from their class speaking to each other in poorly concealed whispers. _

"_Quiet down, no one is supposed to know this!" One girl said harshly. This girl seemed to have the same voice as the one "shhh"ing earlier._

_Her friend only giggled._

"_Sakura's parents are really getting a divorce!?"_

_Ino's eyes widened at the mention of her best friend and her parents' situation. Sakura hadn't mentioned _anything _about her parents getting a divorce and she didn't seem any different than normal either. Ino thought maybe it was just made up gossip the girl in the alley had come up with for her own entertainment. Ino's blood still boiled from her best friend being spoken foully of. _

_Ami glanced at Ino nervously._

"_Yeah, that's why she's been acting weird lately. You know, dressing all girly and hanging out with that new girl Karin,"_

"_Yeah, I have noticed that, everyone's starting to notice her more too…"_

_The more the girls spoke of her best friend the more Ino was finally starting to see it as well. Maybe Sakura _is _beginning to change—but Sakura would have told her if something as big as a divorce was happening at home right? Ino hoped so but the two gossiping girls did have reasonable points, and that hurt Ino the most. It hurts to know your best friend wouldn't come to you first or trust you the most. No, she had to have faith in her Sakura. These girls were just starting drama._

"_You could have kind of seen it coming though, having a daughter like Sakura I'd want a divorce too."_

_The girls laughed loudly and Ino grit her teeth in annoyance._

"_That girl is so weird, she should have been born a boy or not born at all—"_

"_Hey!"_

_Ami gasped as Ino abruptly stood, almost knocking Ami to her feet. The two gossiping girls immediately ceased their laughing and looked over at the furious blonde with wide eyes._

"_Don't just start up rumors about people that aren't true, it's none of your business anyway!"  
Ami stood as well and held onto one of Ino's arms in attempt to calm her down, not wanting a fight to break out in the alleyway. Ino paid her no mind and the two girls across from them scowled._

"_Such tough talk for a hypocrite," The brunette girl called back with crossed arms._

"_You're worse than us, _Ms. Perfect," _She sneered sarcastically. Ino looked taken aback by being called a hypocrite of all things._

"_Just because you're popular," The second girl joined in, "doesn't mean you can call us out on doing the same things as you."_

_Ino's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, all anger temporarily forgotten._

"_When have I ever gossiped?"_

_The girls exchanged looks and laughed, causing Ami to shrink back behind Ino whose arm she was still clutching._

"_Are you stupid or what?"_

_Before Ino could shoot back an angry remark a loud shout caught all girls' attention._

"_What the hell are you girls doing yelling by my store, have you no shame," a burly man in a white uniform yelled as he angrily waddled through the back door of the bakery._

_The group quickly broke off, running in separate directions to escape the angry shopkeeper._

_After about five minutes Ami and Ino found themselves back at Ami's parents' small shop as they tried to catch their breath._

_Ino panted harshly as she slid down a concrete wall and plopped on her bottom followed by Ami who sat beside her. Both girls finally slowed their racing hearts and caught their breaths within ten minutes and now sat quietly until Ino spoke up._

"_What did they mean by that," She asked, referring to the remarks from the gossiping girls earlier._

"_I'm nice aren't I?"_

"_Of course," Ami reassured, "but they don't know that."_

_Ino shot her a confused look and Ami continued._

"_Most people who are popular have become popular for a reason like having a wealthy family or good looks or nice personality. But they also have to stay popular, which they usually do by things like starting rumors or agreeing with opinions of the general public and so on."_

_When Ami glanced at Ino she found the blonde to still look confused and she stifled a giggle._

"_What I'm saying is most popular people do bad things to stay popular. Popular people tend to," Ami paused, "_bully_and start rumors and abuse their power of being popular."_

_Finally the clue train seemed to reach Ino's stop and a sign of recognition crossed her features._

"_Oh."_

_Ami nodded and continued to speak._

"_I think Karin is trying to make Sakura popular for her own loneliness with all those new clothes and personality."_

_Ino frowned and looked at Ami seriously._

"_You believe those girls?"_

_Ami looked away nervously and wrung her hands together with a vibe much like one right before someone drops a figurative bomb on a clueless person._

"_Actually, Sakura told Karin herself a few days ago during class…"_

_The blonde's eyes widened incredulously and she felt the world seem to stop. Only one line ran through her racing mind slow enough to be comprehended._

_Sakura told Karin first._

* * *

"From then on," Ino continued to Tenten and Hinata as she wrapped up her story, "I realized what popularity really meant and why so many people despised it. I found my priorities and I wanted to be Sakura's best friend without having popularity. I wanted to be Sakura's most important person, someone she goes to first."

Tenten broke into a mocking grin at the end of the story and immediately tackled Ino into a tight hug.

"Aw, my Ino-chan is so sweeeeeet~!"

Hinata giggled at Ino's shouts of her need for air.


	9. The Rumors I

****_A/N: It's been a while-but have no fear, another chapter is here! Thanks for all the support, guys, especially _**AmutoisLove**._ All of your reviews made me happy, and I love Amuto as well. ^^_

* * *

**P**_eace_ **O**_ver _**P**_opularity_

_* * * * * * * * * * *  
_O

o

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Whispers and excited chattering filled the halls of the Konoha high school as three of the most beautiful, popular girls of the school walked by together, confidence and perfection surrounding them in an aura. In the middle was a bright red haired girl with stylish glasses most students could only dream of affording and matching stylish clothes, a smirk on her glossed lips as she spoke coolly to her friends.

To her right was the shortest girl of the group with bright green eyes and cotton candy pink hair, her face innocent but still demanding attention. To the redhead's left was the tallest of the group, a brunette with feline-like sharp eyes and plump painted lips. Her hips swayed fluidly, provocative but untouchable.

They were Karin, Mei, and Sakura—the three princesses of the school with nearly anyone easily wrapped around their French manicured fingers.

"Hey," Karin began with a hint of seriousness in her voice though her playful smirk still held its place, "I hear there's a group of girls starting rumors about us."

Mei's eyebrows rose, the only indication of her acknowledgment.

"Yeah," Karin continued, "they've been calling us bitches and fakes. Word is they even went as far as to insult our families."

Sakura's eyes widened slightly.

"Really?"

"Yeah," Mei spoke up, "I heard it too. What losers."

Sakura shook her head disdainfully. Did people really have nothing better to do? It was expected that some people would be jealous of the three's popularity and friendship but to go as far as talking bad about their families…? It was low, Sakura thought, really low. Her family—specifically her father—was always a…_touchy_ subject.

"Who are they?" Sakura asked out of curiosity.

"Um…I think one's named…Yamanaka Ino."

* * *

Naruto's eyes narrowed at the scene before him from his place in front of his locker. Class would begin in two minutes but everyone was still taking their time and chatting with friends.

"Did you hear that?"

Sasuke resisted the urge to sigh and shifted his dark eyes over to the blonde idiot he called his best friend.

"No, dobe."

Naruto decided he had more important things to worry about that the little _"pet name" _Sasuke had called him for the hundredth time since they'd known each other.

"Some chick named Ino is totes hatin' on our Saku-chan, fo' sho!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto's "gangster talk".

"So what?"

Gasp.

"What do you mean 'so what', there's someone _bullying _my _Sakura-chan_! Doesn't that bother you?"

Sasuke closed his locker calmly and shifted his books in his arms.

"Tch, since when was Sakura _yours? _She's popular, she probably gets talked about all the time; it's no big deal."

Naruto pouted and stuck his tongue out at Sasuke for the first comment before suddenly reaching out and snatching Sasuke's arm (please don't try this one at home folks, Uchiha's do not like being touched). Sasuke was ready to beat the ramen-based life out of Naruto when the blonde suddenly pulled them both in the opposite direction from their classes, nearly knocking each other off balance.

"We shall find this _Ino _and teach her a lesson!"

Sasuke groaned but didn't struggle further, knowing he wouldn't get far anyway with Naruto's stubborn personality.

* * *

Ino Yamanaka smiled and sighed happily as she practically skipped down the halls. The day was perfect for the platinum blonde—the sky was bluer than her perfect blue eyes, the birds were quiet for once (because those things seem to _never _stop tweeting sometimes!), and the air smelled of her favorite thing: boys.

Yep, she was walking to the restroom near the boy's gym during third period and life was good.

"HEY, IS YOUR NAME INO!?"

"Quiet down, idiot."

"Oi, I am _not _an idiot!"

Ino raised an eyebrow at the scene of two boys she didn't recognize calling her name and walking towards her. One was blonde—yellow to be honest—with blue eyes and the other had black hair with matching black eyes. Both had horrible fashion sense and her eyes burned just looking at them.

How did they even know her name?

"Why do you want to know?" She asked defensively, her attention on the sexy, sweaty guys in P.E ceased.

"We heard that _Yamanaka Ino _has been starting rumors about _my _Sakura-chan," The blonde explained with an attempted "tough guy" look.

"_He_ heard," The raven-haired one corrected beside him.

"Shut up, teme, and be a supportive friend to Sakura-chan!"

Ino decided to cut in before a fight started and _she _was held accountable.

"Where did you hear that? Of course I didn't talk about Sakura, she's my best friend…how do you guys know her?"

Naruto grinned as if he'd solved a huge mystery.

"Ah-ha, so you _are _Ino—OW!"

Sasuke retracted his hand from Naruto's now throbbing skull before speaking.

"A group of girls—Uzumaki Karin and Terumi Mei I think. We're friends of Sakura's."

Naruto visibly shuddered at sharing the same last name with that make-up covered _monster _he'd seen in the halls.

Ino frowned. Sakura's taste in friends was questionable at the least…

_Moreover, _Ino thought, _what the hell are those two doing spreading around rumors about me and Sakura! Those scheming bitc—_

Suddenly the bell rang, it was lunch time.

Ino glanced over at the two who claimed to be Sakura's friends.

"I'll get to the bottom of this so don't you guys worry!"

Naruto grinned with a thumbs up and Sasuke rolled his eyes.

Ino replied with a grin of her own, prepared to head _straight _to the redheads in question and talk (or knock, depending how stubborn the popular girls were) some sense into them both—well she _would have _if it weren't for the angry math teacher stomping his way towards her demanding a explanation on why she'd missed the whole last half hour of class. She gulped.

The shirtless boys in gym were worth it, though.

* * *

_ Questions? Thoughts? Ideas? _

_Feel free to share in a review or a PM directly to me. _

_I'd really love to hear everyone's opinions. _


	10. The Rumors II

**P**_eace_ **O**_ver _**P**_opularity_

_* * * * * * * * * * *  
_O

o

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"_We're going to be best friends forever, Hana."_

"_Definitely, Ami."_

How nice…being loved by someone so much. I wonder how that feels.

"_Oi, Mei, stop staring at other girls, it's creepy!"_

"_Haha, my parents told me Mei's mom will sleep with _anyone _for a few dollars."_

"_The apple must not fall far from the tree."_

I really wouldn't know anything about that. Love, promises, friendship—they must only be for really special people. Even so, I wonder what makes me so different from those special people. Is there something I'm not doing right?

"_Hey, don't ignore us, ugly, we're talking to you!"_

"_Typical Mei, always thinking she's better than everyone else. Why don't you do us _all _a favor and jump your 'perfect' little ass off a cliff."_

"_She's always acting snobby just 'cause her family owns that huge Terumi company. I hate people like her!"_

Lies, lies, lies. I don't think I'm better than anyone—really. Please stop talking that way…

"_She just sits there emotionlessly—what a bitch."_

"_So rude, ignoring us like this. She'll never have any friends, not like she cares anyway."_

"_Mei is really worthless."_

* * *

"—ei? Mei?"

The red-tint haired brunette's head snapped up, her expression similar to a dazed infant just waking. After a moment she seemed to regain her awareness and focused her eyes on the person who had called her.

"Are you feeling okay, you zoned out for a minute." Karin asked with genuine concern for her best friend.

Mei gave a nonchalant nod and with only the slightest hesitation Karin continued telling Mei what she'd been saying while Mei was dazed.

"I think Sakura made a few new friends recently, she's always around those two new students."

This fully caught Mei's attention and she perked up slightly.

"Who are they—when did they meet?"

Karin gazed pass Mei to the chalkboard in thought as she answered.

"It's that Narutail guy or whatever and his geeky best friend that always wears a dark hoodie. I'm not positive when they all met but I think it was that day a few months ago when Ryuu and Jong came over to your house."

Mei frowned as she did a few mental calculations in her head. That meant Sakura had been associating with the losers for about four months now. Mei did not liked this. At all.

Karin leaned closer to Mei and he voice dropped to a whisper volume.

"What are we going to do?"

Mei's expression became thoughtful for a split second before a small mischievous smirk took over her features.

"Next month is her birthday, isn't it. We'll have something planned by then."

Karin nodded, slowly memorizing the new information.

"In the mean time," Mei continued, "keep up with the fake rumors by Yamanaka, got it?"

Karin leaned back and nodded, a similar smirk upon her own face.

"Got it."

The girls returned to a more typical conversation among teenagers, never once noticing dark eyes on them from across the room.

* * *

"I haven't seen Ino at all since third period," Tenten complained, stretching her cramped legs from sitting at a school desk far too long. Hinata nodded conversationally, though her mind was obviously on other things as the pair walked down the crowded halls.

Tenten felt mutually awkward with the lavender-haired girl, not used to Ino's loud voice _not _popping out new topics and jokes every five. Ino, Tenten supposed, kept the group together. Hinata was too soft-spoken and shy to speak without anyone else initiating it and Tenten only had a loudmouth when someone equally, if not more, loud was there as well.

Not to say Tenten doesn't love the shy girl, she truly does, she just couldn't find a good conversation with just the two of them to relate to like Ino always does.

Just as that thought left her brain a memory popped up.

"Oh! It's Sakura's birthday soon, huh? What do you think we should do?"

Hinata left her own world for a moment to consider the question.

"Ino probably has something big planned again."

Tenten pursed her lips absentmindedly and nodded, remembering Sakura's last birthday Ino had went all out for. The girls had all nearly gained ten pounds from the amount of junk food and chocolate Ino had bought.

"What about Karin and Mei though," Hinata asked.

The girl's voice was so low when she uttered the words that Tenten had to strain her ears to hear it and repeat it in her head to understand.

Tenten grinned boyishly after a moment and wrapped a friendly arm around Hinata's shoulders, frightening the poor girl from the sudden movements.

"Don't you worry—we'll definitely win against the redheads and their evil witch powers!"

* * *

**Question of the Chapter**

Which character's personality do you like best?

_~Please share your answer in a review, I'm dying to know~_


	11. The Life of Karin II

**P**_eace_ **O**_ver _**P**_opularity_

_* * * * * * * * * * *  
_O

o

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Karin waddled to her bed, determined not to make a sound though her body commanded her to groan out the pains she felt all over. She eased onto the bed carefully, letting out an occasional hiss.

Her father had definitely not gone easy on her today. His unluckiness at the office this morning were evidence in the harsh bruises and gashes all of her arms and legs. Even a few purple marks were on her face, a place her father usually left alone as not to make anyone seem suspicious of child abuse.

Karin berated herself as she felt hot tears sliding down her sore cheeks silently. She shouldn't be crying over this—the man was a bastard and had been since the day she was born. The tears fell anyway as she recalled his silence the whole time.

Probably the worst part of his abuse was the dreadful feeling of anticipation she felt when he gave her a single look and tilted his head towards the basement—a place her whimpers and the sounds of skin being struck wouldn't be heard.

Her father didn't have any complaints about her this time, just his own selfish reasons from the office. Their stocks were down, a new intern messed up, another company refused a deal—any of these could have been the reason. Karin couldn't know for sure, because he was silent.

He was silent when she made only a slight hesitation before following him downstairs obediently.

He was silent when he locked the door and gave her an expectant look saying _"strip"_ as they both tried to ignore her mother's muffled sobs upstairs.

He was silent when he removed his belt to strike her on her arms, legs, anywhere he saw her pale skin against her black underwear.

He was silent when he came to a gradual stop, slaps having less and less force.

And, lastly, he was silent when he put his belt back on and left the room wordlessly.

Karin involuntarily shivered as she remember his cold stare locked on her abused skin. She wished she'd smelt alcohol on his breath the countless times he's abused her.

It would be reassuring that her father wasn't hurting her because he was just like that but because he wasn't in his right mind. But never, never had he been drunk when he hit her. He just didn't care about her. Under any circumstances.

A loud buzz interrupted Karin's thought and she slowly turned her aching head to face the phone on her nightstand, hoping her father hadn't heard the noise and been irritated enough for another round.

Karin warily moved her arm to grasp her phone.

It was a text from Mei.

She felt slightly relieved. Her best friend was a good way to distract herself from her heartless father.

_Let's go on a vacation tomorrow. Okinawa. We need to talk about Sakura._

Karin would have grinned if her cheeks weren't so sore. Oh how she needed a vacation—and Okinawa was known for the best beaches with the hottest guys.

_Okay! I can't wait. :) _

The redhead locked her phone and rose from bed, determined to pack her bags through the pain.

* * *

"Then he gave a coupon for a year's worth of free ramen," Naruto exclaimed excitedly.

Sasuke rolled his eyes though a small smirk of amusement was on his lips and Sakura practically guffawed at Naruto's excitement over such a simple story.

"So," Naruto suddenly said in a less excited, suggestive tone. "Wanna get some ra—"

"_No,_" Sasuke and Sakura answered in sync, equal glares of finality at the blonde.

Sakura has only known Naruto for less than a month but in that short span she'd already experienced Naruto's ramen obsession first hand. When she finally lost the patience and gained the courage to absolutely _refuse _to eat ramen with the group for the next three months Sasuke looks immensely relieved while Naruto looked as if she'd just kicked a puppy. A delicious, ramen-flavored puppy.

Naruto pouted in defeat with an exaggerated "aw man, you guys are no fun".

After about an hour and a half of persisting, Sakura finally promised they'd wait for Naruto while he ate _one _bowl of ramen as fast as he could. Naruto was overjoyed to say the least and quickly accepted the offer with a bone-crushing hug.

Sasuke and Sakura ended up waiting outside of the sketchy ramen stand while they heard Naruto scarffing down like it was his first meal in ages.

Sakura sat on a slightly uncomfortable wooden bench beside the main entrance while Sasuke leaned against the wall coolly next to her.

The pinkette felt greatly awkward next to the silent hood-wearer. Even though she considered him one of her closer friends already, she still didn't know hardly anything about him.

Naruto was the one who usually started conversations, conversations that drew both Sakura and Sasuke in to the point they'd talk to each other (though Sasuke usually only used words like "yes", "no", "hn", or "aa") before Naruto would quickly speak again. Other than those times, Sakura could only recall a few times she'd talked just to Sasuke alone.

Said boy's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Are you cold? It's late."

Sakura blinked for a moment, processing the quiet but confident voice she didn't hear often.

She glanced up to sky for confirmation. It seemed to be about seven o'clock, with the sky a pretty periwinkle. A few stars littered the sky and the moon's waning Gibbous could be faintly seen overheard.

"Just a tiny bit," Sakura admitted, "but I'm fine."

She couldn't help but to imagine how good the steam of hot ramen on her face would feel right now, no matter how repulsive the food itself was.

Sasuke pushed himself off the wall with his right foot and sat down beside her on the bench, a little closer than she'd expected him to.

"I can't give you my jacket but if you're cold…"

Sasuke trailed off almost shyly although his voice remained its default monotone.

Sakura was about to ask him to continue but his left arm suddenly wrapping around her shoulders loosely silenced her.

She half expected to wake up to find she'd been in a parallel universe.

She didn't wake up.

Sakura began to laugh nervously, a trait she'd always possessed in unusual situations she wasn't used to.

"You really do refuse to take off that jacket, huh?"

Sasuke's lips tugged into a slightly playful smirk, still looking forward.

"Aa."

The "moment" was ruined when they heard Naruto's loud voice go off inside the restaurant.

"What d'ya mean this coupon is expired!?"

Sasuke removed his arm from the girl and stood, not wanting to deal with Naruto's pestering if he caught them in a "romantic position". Scoff.

Sakura just sighed and began to count her money in her purse as she heard Naruto's disappointed footsteps coming towards them from inside. He was most likely going to sheepishly ask for money to pay for the _definitely more than one bowl _of ramen he'd eaten.

* * *

_A/N: __I'm really starting to dislike this fanfiction. It is definitely not going the way I planned. Even the characters are all messed up. DX_

**Question of the Chapter**

What do you think Mei's life is like now that we know Karin is a victim of child abuse?


End file.
